Seoul Lotus Lantern Parade 2014

Today I joined Joyce and the Hwagyesa Temple group in the Lotus Lantern Parade in Seoul for the second year.  Joyce and I got to Dongguk University around 3:30 pm and were the first ones there; most of the monks and laypeople got there around 4:30 pm or so.  While we waited we chatted and snacked on some rice balls and cherry tomatoes that the event staff gave us.  We listened to the opening ceremonies - a lot of chatting and a few speeches from heads of temples - and the parade began around 7 pm.  The laypeople were all given loose green robes (of sorts) to wear while we carried our lanterns.

We were told beforehand that the parade would be held in silence in honor of the victims of the recent ferry tragedy, but that was changed slightly.  Instead, they didn't have the usual music and dancers, and many people walking in or watching the parade were chanting a short chant (which sounded something like 'so ka moonie beul', though I'm probably butchering it).  The parade started at Dongguk University and ended near Anguk station.  We were packed in pretty tightly, so I couldn't see much while I was walking it, but it was a pleasant (if slightly solemn) experience.

After the parade finished, Joyce and I (along with another person from the temple, James) went to a nearby temple to admire their ceiling of lanterns.  We also walked along Cheonggyecheon Stream to see the huge float-sized lanterns there.

Joyce had to leave around 9:30 pm because she's taking the TOEIC tomorrow, but James and I got dinner at a cheap Korean restaurant before heading home.  I got back at midnight and I'm exhausted, but it was a very good day.  It's also almost one year since Joyce and I met at last year's parade, so it was kind of an anniversary celebration of our friendship.  Here's hoping I'll still be around to do it next year!

New Apartment

I finished moving into my new apartment on Sunday, which took about six hours and a lot of sweat.  Jana gave me a big hand with the boxes, and came up with the good idea to have a taxi take us and my stuff to the new place instead of lugging it all ourselves.  It took two trips, but since the distance was so short it only cost 4,000 won each trip (about $4).  One of my coworkers also helped us move the mattress up to the loft from the first floor, which was a huge help.  After I disassembled the bed frame and hauled the pieces upstairs (the ceiling is too low to use the frame in the loft), the space really opened up.  I still don't have a chair, but I have a table and a two-piece sectional couch, so I have a pretty comfortable setup with one of the couch pieces serving as my chair.

The new place is a fair bit closer than the old one (right next door to my academy instead of five minutes away), a little bigger, brighter, has a view (the old apartment had glazed windows, so I couldn't see through them), and even has faster internet.  It has some minor problems, such as a cracked faucet and some dead lights, but Avalon said they'd talk to the building maintenance about fixing that.  A slightly more annoying problem is that I don't have a microwave or fan here, and Avalon says that they're not providing them here (even though I had both in the old place).  I barely used the microwave at the old apartment because of my later schedule here, so its absence isn't a huge deal, but I may want to spring for a fan when the weather starts to heat up.  It would probably be cheaper than running the AC all night for the whole summer, but we'll see.  I'll put up a video tour of the new place once I get it nice and cleaned up!